French Mint Silk Pie

Article first published as Gluten Free French Mint Silk Pie on Blogcritics.

Pie... is the new cupcake, so I heard. I'm not going to complain because I personally love pie. Cupcakes are great for the grab and go crowd, but I would prefer sitting down to a piece of pie and taking the time to enjoy it with a fork. My husband agrees too, where he would choose a slice of pie over a cupcake any day! In fact, I made this French Mint Silk Pie recently as a twist to his favorite kind of pie. It's rich, creamy, and oh so mint chocolatey with 2 kinds of chocolate and a splash of mint extract. So grab a fork and sit down to enjoy this slice!...

When I became gluten free about month ago, I wondered how I could enjoy pie once again. Thankfully, these days there are so many gluten free options and nearly everything can be adapted and made gluten free - including pie crusts! I've included the recipe for a GF pie crust below but this recipe can made with either your favorite homemade or store-bought pie crust too.

French Mint Silk Pie
recipe adapted from AllRecipes

1 prepared 8 inch pastry shell, baked and cooled*

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup mint chocolate chips (such as Andes)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
2 eggs


Whipped Cream:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's or powdered sugar
Mint chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)


For the filling: In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, stirring occasionally until smooth; set aside.

Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar with an electric mixer until light colored and well blended. Stir in the thoroughly cooled chocolate, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Spoon the chocolate filling into a cooled, baked pie shell.

For the Whipped Cream: Just before serving, whisk heavy cream and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer until it comes to medium to stiff peaks. Top your pie with the whipped cream and garnish with mint chocolate chips or chocolate shavings if desired.

*Gluten Free Crust
recipe from Bob's Red Mill

1 1/2 cups GF All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter
4 - 6 tablespoons cold milk 


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.


Combine flour and salt, then cut in butter using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle milk, one tablespoon at a time, while blending, until all ingredients are moist. Transfer mixture into a pie pan and using your fingers, form the crust by patting the mixture on the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Bake the prepared pie crust in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before using in above recipe.